The Short, the Long and the Tall

Dear Reader,

I have always enjoyed writing short stories, and to celebrate my eightieth birthday I decided to ask my readers to select twenty from the ninety-two I have had published, for a new collection.

The resulting selection was fascinating, with almost everyone choosing the same seventeen tales, but there was such divergence in those selected for the final three that I had to step in and choose them myself.

I’m mad about art so I wanted the book to be illustrated, and was delighted when my first choice, the contemporary artist and distinguished illustrator Paul Cox, agreed to take up the challenge. Paul’s work for The Wind in the Willows and Gerald Durrell’s My Family and Other Animals perfectly matched how I wanted this book to look. The result of our collaboration is The Short, the Long and the Tall, which I hope you will enjoy.

Finally, I’d like to thank all those people who have inspired me over the years with their yarns, and do remember that while there may not be a book in every one of us, there is so often a damned good short story.

April 2020